Please join Oscar-nominated actor, writer, and artist James Franco for a discussion about his work with Francisco Ricardo, PhD., lecturer at RISD, author, and art theorist.

Franco will sign copies of his newly released book at the MOCA Store after the talk.

James Franco: The Dangerous Book Four Boys explores themes of childhood, nostalgia, games, and destruction in multiple media including sculpture, video, photography, and drawing. Each experimental film, suite of drawings, and raw, childlike construction is presented as a window into the artist’s mind. This dense and often diaristic survey reflects Franco’s interest in the contemporary American landscape of male adolescence, young adulthood, sexuality, and the nature of masculinity itself.

Please note: Franco will only sign copies of The Dangerous Book Four Boys purchased from the MOCA Store (proof of purchase required) on a first-come first-served basis. Due to high demand, early arrival is recommended. The signing will end promptly at 5pm.

The Cartoon Art Museum welcomes cartoonist Leela Corman on Thursday, April 12 from 7:00-9:00pm for a discussion and book signing of her latest release, Unterzakhn, published by Schocken Books/Pantheon. This event is free and open to the public.

About the artist:
Leela Corman studied painting, printmaking and illustration at Massachusetts College of Art. Her book Queen’s Day earned her a Xeric Award in 1999 and was called “music to my eyes” by Scott McCloud. She has created two more graphic novels including her latest, Unterzakhn, published by Schocken/Pantheon. In her successful illustration career, she has illustrated books for major publishers on crafts, fashion, gardening, dating and other topics. She is also an accomplished bellydancer and bellydance instructor. Corman and her husband, Tom Hart, are the founders of The Sequential Artists Workshop, a non-profit organization dedicated to the prosperity and promotion of comic art and artists, offering instruction in comic art, graphic novels and visual storytelling in vibrant Gainesville, Florida.

About the book:
A mesmerizing, heartbreaking graphic novel of immigrant life on New York’s Lower East Side at the turn of the twentieth century, as seen through the eyes of twin sisters whose lives take radically and tragically different paths.

For six-year-old Esther and Fanya, the teeming streets of New York’s Lower East Side circa 1910 are both a fascinating playground and a place where life’s lessons are learned quickly and often cruelly. In drawings that capture both the tumult and the telling details of that street life, Unterzakhn (Yiddish for “Underthings”) tells the story of these sisters: as wide-eyed little girls absorbing the sights and sounds of a neighborhood of struggling immigrants; as teenagers taking their own tentative steps into the wider world (Esther working for a woman who runs both a burlesque theater and a whorehouse, Fanya for an obstetrician who also performs illegal abortions); and, finally, as adults battling for their own piece of the “golden land,” where the difference between just barely surviving and triumphantly succeeding involves, for each of them, painful decisions that will have unavoidably tragic repercussions.

Khoi Pham and Dave Bullock (tentative) sign and sketch at The Comic Book Shop on Tuesday April 3, 2012 from 8 PM – 10 PM to celebrate the release of Avengers vs X-Men#1 ! Also appearing are local creators from 215 Ink Publishing and creators from Arcana publishing.

Fans in both New York City and Los Angeles will have the chance to catch an advanced screening of the “Ultimate Spider-Man” premiere as well as meet some of the series’ stars and creators in two special launch parties, held at Midtown Comics in New York and Meltdown Comics in Los Angeles!

Check out more details for each party and invite your friends at our Facebook event pages for the New York and Los Angeles shindigs!

Scroll down for the full scoop on each event, and keep it tuned to Marvel.com for all things “Ultimate Spider-Man” as we get ready for the series premiere this Sunday, April 1 at 11:00 p.m. ET inside Marvel Universe on Disney XD!

Los Angeles “Ultimate Spider-Man” Kickoff Party

Can’t wait to jump into the Marvel Universe on Disney XD this April? Marvel Television invites you to watch the first full episode of “Ultimate Spider-Man” with a star-studded kickoff event at Meltdown Comics (7522 Sunset Boulevard, Hollywood, CA) from 12 p.m. PT – 4:30 p.m. PT Saturday, March 31!

Great for fans of all-ages, this event will include a free comic book giveaway and signing, as well as Q&A with Jeph Loeb (Marvel’s Head of Television, Executive Producer), Paul Dini (“Batman: The Animated Series,” “Lost”), Steven T. Seagle and Duncan Rouleau of Man of Action (“Ben 10,” “Generator Rex”), Misty Lee (voice of Aunt May) AND Clark Gregg (“Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Thor”). But that’s not all! Fans in attendance can catch the first episode of “Ultimate Spider-Man” a full day before it premieres on Disney XD (April 1, 11 a.m. ET). Plus, meet Spider-Man in person!

Don’t miss this Mighty Marvel Event full of giveaways, prizes and even the chance to meet Spider-Man himself!

New York “Ultimate Spider-Man” Kickoff Party

Can’t wait to jump into the Marvel Universe on Disney XD this April? Marvel Television wants to invite you to watch the first full episode of “Ultimate Spider-Man” with a special kickoff at Midtown Comics Downtown location (64 Fulton Street, New York, NY) from on Saturday, March 31 from 12 p.m. ET – 4:00 p.m. ET.

Fun for fans of all-ages, this event will include a free comic book giveaway and signing, as well as a Q&A with Marvel and TV animation powerhouses Joe Quesada (Marvel Chief Creative Officer), Man of Action’s Joe Kelly (“Ben 10,” “Generator Rex”) and Chris Eliopoulos (Ultimate Spider-Man premiere comic). But that’s not all! Fans in attendance can catch the first episode of “Ultimate Spider-Man” a full day before it premieres on Disney XD (April 1, 11 a.m. ET).

Rich Molinelli and Tony Scott (both featured artists for the Marvel 2012 Greatest Heroes trading cards) appear at Spandex City Comics to do signings and free sketches on Saturday May 5, 2012 for Free Comic Book Day from 11 a.m. to 4 pm!

A hilarious, visual smorgasbord of some of life’s most awkward moments, Mime Very Own Book will leave you speechless! It’s an eclectic mix of pop culture, social commentary, and parodies of fairy-tale favorites.

Words can’t describe the feeling you’ll have after reading Mime Very Own Book!

About Doug Jones:

Doug Jones is the man behind the make-up in countless iconic film and TV roles. He starred as Abe Sapien in the “Hellboy” movie franchise, The Silver Surfer in “Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer,” both Fauno and The Pale Man in Guillermo Del Toro’s Oscar-winning film “Pan’s Labyrinth” and Billy Butcherson in the Halloween classic “Hocus Pocus.” Doug’s early career included mime performance, a role he reprised for the creation of “Mime Very Own Book.”

Los Angeles, CA (March 26, 2012) Hero Initiative, the non-profit organization that aids comic creators in medical and financial need is heading to Emerald City Comic Con March 30 through April 1 in Seattle, Wash. at the Washington State Convention Center. We have many special guests, and we are going BOWLING!

That’s right! We’re bowling to raise money for our cause on Friday March 30 at 8pm! There are 24 spots to bowl with a special guest including Jim Valentino, Francis Manapul, Barry Kitson, Tony Parker and more at Garage Billiards at 1130 Broadway in downtown Seattle! (http://www.garagebilliards.com) For $40 you get 2 games with a special guest, shoe rental, a drink ticket and five raffle tickets to win a bowling pin designed by artists such as Joe Linsner or Matt Wagner!

And if you don’t want to bowl, come and have some fun! The custom bowling pins can be won by ANYONE who shows up! Raffle tickets are $5 each, and tickets will be sold all day Friday at booth number #807 and all evening at the event. Winners MUST BE present.

And of course our special guests at the booth will be signing and sketching for us. Check it out!

Friday, March 30 (hours 2-8)

200-300: Keu Cha

300-400: Scott Morse

400-500: Mike Oeming

500-700: Bill Willingham

Saturday, March 31 (hours 10-7)

1230-130: Jim Valentino

130-230: Adi Granov

430-630: Chrissie Zullo

Sunday, April 1 (hours 10-5)

1030-1130: Steve Lieber

1130-1230: Matt Fraction

About The Hero Initiative

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book artists and craftsmen in need. Hero Initiative creates a financial safety net for yesterday’s creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment.

Since its inception, The Hero Initiative has had the good fortune to grant over $500,000 to the comics veterans who have paved the way for those in the industry today. For more information, visit www.heroinitiative.org or call 626-676-6354.